23 February 2006

Bulgar & Chickpea Patties

Yes, this was as good as it looks (and if it looks like crap to you, then it will taste like crap to you too). I love falafel as I mentioned in a previous post, but mostly eat it outside of the house. We have so many places for falafel here, in fact, if you drive down Apache Blvd. for about 1.5 miles, you will probably pass about 15 places for falafel!!!

Anyway, I love patties, ones with chickpeas especially, and I have been waiting to use bulgar in some other form other than tabouli (tabouleh). I didn't follow a recipe, although it is kinda strange how this turned out. I started off with the idea for patties, especially since they are tasty and you can really put anything in them. I found a photo of bulgar patties that looked good to me (SweetPea) and she assisted me with how to go about making them. I didn't want to just settle for that, and I wanted to center my meal around the turmeric root I bought (see previous post) as well as make tahini-tamari sauce from The Everyday Vegan. I did a bunch of searches through cookbooks, the internet, and my own brain.

I decided I was going to make half-falafel, and half-SweetPea's patties and also add my own stuff. Boy, were these great! There's nothing like not measuring, throwing a ton of good stuff in a bowl and seeing what happens. That's really what I did, and I just kept (ha ha) smelling the mixture to be sure it was ok, as I didn't taste it until I was officially ready to eat.

In preparing this meal, my current calmness and excitement for the outcome of wonderful patties took a big turn... I only had a tiny little bit of tahini and I was basically centering my meal around tahini. I had no access to the car, store or anything, and only about a few teaspoons or so of tahini. I did what I could and the sauce was not as tahinish as I would have liked it to be, but still good. Just more watery, but still ok. I made the tahini while the mixture was chilling in the fridge.

I had the mixture in the fridge for a few hours because Ray had a gig at the Kerr Center and I didn't know when he was going to be back home. It ended up being 10 something PM and didn't start heating the patties until 10:30pm. Ugh. We ate after 11, but it was well-worth it.

List of ingredients (no order)
bulgar (cooked first, then cooled)
chickpeas (same process, but then I put these and veggies in the food processor)
carrots
fresh Italian parsley
garlic (a shitload)
olive oil (to fry, just a tad)
red onion
tamari
ground black pepper
sea salt
ground corriander
cumin, ground
paprika
fresh grated turmeric (my fingers and cutting board is yellow. good thing the counter already is)
red chili flakes
cayenne
baking powder (a pinch)
fresh lemon juice

I wanted to put tahini in these as a binder, but I was all out. I wanted to reserve it for the sauce.

Our plates. Mine's the one with the red. Same meal for both of us, I am just picky about what my special plate or bowl or serving utensil is. Oh, and having citrus after the meal was fabulous and as you can see again, I still don't have romaine in the house.


20 comments:

Julie said...

Mmmmm...I haven't had good falafel in awhile. Is that what these taste like? They look great.

I tried that "just add water" falafel from Fantastic foods, but I didn't like it very much.

Your kitty is super cute! I want a cat or dog so bad, but Matt's not too keen on the idea.

Harmonia said...

Awesome post! Great info!

Um, sorry about the link on the new weekly blogroll...you are up now.

Susan Voisin said...

These look great! (And I'm also picky about what plate/utensil I use!)

Eat Peace Please said...

I knew that. That's also why I thought your valentine plate was awesome! Even for $17- well worth happiness!

Everyday Superhero said...

Your burgers look fantastic.

By the way, I'm also picky about the plate I eat off of. I thought I was alone in the world. My family finds it so strange. Good to hear that there are others. :-)

Guinnah said...

These look great! I love making falafel and quinoa tabouleh. It's one of our favorite dinners :-) I've got a vegan blog too if you want to check it out. :-)
guinnah.blogspot.com

jess (of Get Sconed!) said...

Those look delicious. I've never made falafel or any other type of ground patty (other than tofu/breadcrumb/veggie burgers) from scratch before. I need to change that.

Eat Peace Please said...

Yes, Jess. You need to change that. I suggest you start with the white lentils.

Eat Peace Please said...

Great site Nancy!! Thanks for the comment. I love quinoa too.

Amanda said...

These look amazing! I love falafel and all falafel-esque items. Also, I have that same plate. :)

Harmonia said...

Come check out the 3 different kinds of Hummus I made last night. I have a strange question posted at the end of the entry and wanted to get your opinion of it.

Eat Peace Please said...

Harmonia, I'm going to check it out. I love hummus.

VeganCore, Thanks, and is your plate the same one that looks cool but is really crappy and you can't place it in the microwave and it has to be on the top rack of the washer? These are crappy, but nice shape.

Amy K. said...

Wow, that looks awesome!

Guess I know what I'm making this weekend: variation on your falafal, and some pita bread, and I'm in heaven!

Eat Peace Please said...

Amy... thanks! Go for it. What are you doing with the pita? I had whole wheat and it's just ok to me. I ate most of them plain.

Anonymous said...

Excellent blog! I came here from veganlunchbox.com. Keep up the great cooking :). I have been vegetarian since birth, and it's great to see others with a similar way of thinking and then some...

e-rex the vegan dinosaur said...

not measuring is the best way to cook :0) i only measure (kinda..) when i bake, since that's chemisty. i like the idea of making falafel with grain and garbonzos, i'll have to try that next time (and, of course, add a shitload of garlic)

Eat Peace Please said...

Hi Zoracky... grains and garbanzos were really a bit hit for me.

Me... I really should post some disasters, they're funny (but not at the time)

Achira... Thanks for visiting and commenting! Keep it up. I'll also look for you over at the lunchbox. Now, that's a great site. And, that is super cool that you are veg since birth, as I wish I could say the same. I am definitely detoxified almost 25 years later, though!

Amanda said...

My plate is totally the same one that looks cool but is actually crappy. I don't even remember where I got it.

Anonymous said...

Heyy Les!
I Think ive had this dish at you and rays house before! i remember it being soo good! but then agai everything you make i think is good! =]well i love you and miss you both!

Love
Anna

Eat Peace Please said...

Hey Anna! I am sooo happy to see you here! Thanks for the comment.

We love and miss you too (move down here!!!).